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Show A WARRIOR BOLD. By ST. avonaEttATiinonNE, Author of "LlltU Ul MMlt,m." "Th Spldtr'i Wtb," "Or. JacL'i Wldoic'," 'Uiit Caprlet," tie. CVtfjrliht. 1901. Street tml Smtm. N" York T CHATTint XII, Continued.) "Wo must hnvp another deal, that's nil. Perhaps n better and more generous gen-erous lover will oppear tho next tlmo ono who will appreciate little favors at their truo value Von can consldor yourself dismissed," with a wave of tho hand that should have struck dumb terror Into tho heart of the oilier, but which, on the contrary, only oxcltod his secret mirth. "Thanks, but I fehitTI toko my dls- cl.nrgo only from tho proper author- my, nnd lu this easo that does not happen to be ahem l Copt. Brand. . "Very good. Koincmber, I nm hor father, nnd tho rtghtrul custodian of our family honor. Perhaps I may ro-sort ro-sort to other nnd moro drastic measures meas-ures should you continue to force your unwolcomo attentions upon my daughter." "You would find me ready and willing will-ing to give you hack ns good us you send, sir." "Why, you young scamp, I could break every bono lu your body, If I chose," nlmost frothing at tho mouth with rnge. "Better not try it, captain. In Now York stnto they electrocute for murder, mur-der, nnd It's a worso fnto than hanging, hang-ing, which you know" has terrors enough novor to bo forgotten." Churl Ic, acting upon tbo spur of tho moment, could not holn giving him this llttlo thrust. It wns a keen ' ono. Tho othor's jaw dropped, his eyes momentarily rolled In a spasm of agony, nnd tho sweat seemed to break out upon his brow. Chnrllo saw nnd was saJJslled. Ho had given tho conscienceless wretch a body-blow In return for his vllo threats. Capt. Brand's spasm lasted but a brief spaco of tlmo, and then ho recovered re-covered his self-possession. Thero was a peculiarity about tho captain that seemed very marked whon In a rngo his oyes became qulto bloodshot, and glowed llko the orbs of a hyena upon tho deserts of which ho loved to talk. And Just now they wi-jw' fiery, Indeed. In-deed. Tho look ho gavo Stunt had murder mur-der in it, though Charlie showed no sign of alarm. Here, in this public qlace, tho man would novor dnro aipault him. Besides, Charllo possesses tho Idea that ho could hold his oin at any tlmo agnlnst tho rollow. irue, ho was smaller than tho cnptJjn, but a llfo dovotcd to occasional 'ljaBlpatlon must have H:iyaiUsU"jjjni ishlng powers HHJ turo had oilglnnBHR-HB Why 'man of WZ & MfA But Capt. Dra;feaUfflncrwWolt reason had ot qulto Ooaerteulilm. Ho smiled grirtfy, and thero was n world of meanlm in his Hardonlc look. K "Very good, myWarty! You havo choson to throw dbvn tho glove, nnd from this hour It'wnr to Hio knlfo botwecn us. You my live-to ruo tho day you mado an tcemy out of ono who held out tlio 'ollvo branch. Do-pend Do-pend upon It, Arllnd Brand Is not for you. A fond parentmust guard tho Intorests of his sweet child. Go your wny, young sir; and when next mo meet It will bo as fo to tho death. I wash my hands of yoi." CIIAI'Tim xui. The Fateful Hour. Charllo looked aftor the retreating figure of Capt. Brand, nd wns J la doubt whether to tnko him -seriously or consldor his threat a huge Jokojlo soon fjsolvcd to dlsmlsB frdfll'hls mind Capt. Brand and all ho typlflt-d, and scok roposo. 1 Ho gained tho Bnnctlty of his room, and, lighting tho gns, sat down to havo a last deliberation ore reflrlng. All scorned cnpablo uf running In a smooth groovo, hut "the beat laid Bchomos of mlco nnd mon gan mtt ngloy," Bobby Burns tolls us, nnd who has not found it truo In his own ex-porlonco? ex-porlonco? , Charllo rotirod. Whether he slept soundly or not concqrns us little, but undor (ho circumstances It Ib hn'ruly probablo that his slumber was Vary i rofroshlng. Thero was too groat n load on h!sx mind. Ho folt very much ns a man might who stands upon tho brink of a precipice preci-pice Success or falluro his whole future fu-ture depended upon ono llttlo word-was word-was balanced In tho hollow of a girl's hand. Charllo's provious bitter oxparlenco ' hnd caused him to fcol moro or less cnutlon, with n shado of distrust toward to-ward tho gentlo sex, nndjignlnst this ho hnd to light. ' Could ho havo known what lay bo-foro bo-foro him, undor whut fearful conditions condi-tions ho was fated to win his swet-.heart, swet-.heart, oven his bold warrior spirit might havo quailed a llttlo. It Is Just ns well perhaps, thnt theso things aro morclfully hlddon from our j view Just ns well that wo nosd only rapplo wlta each dltllculty as It appears ap-pears in vlow, instead of crossing bridge -Wore wo como to thorn, i Tho day dawned. Thoro wm moro or Jess of a bustlo in tho nli Now YonS contains moro sons of Erin tnnjpjjbnbly any Irish city out sldo of Duhlh. And thesoj patriotic exiles novor nogloct tolfltU'Biy "piMobrato St. Pat-i rick's day, no matter what tho weather may bo. Charllo folt ho must havo somothlng to distract his attention. Artomus wns not in sight, tho daily paper had boon exhausted, nnd as a last resort ho sauntered out to watch tho crowds. Nover onco did ho wander far from tho hotel, which fact, later on, ho was lncllnod to bollovo was a apodal dispensation dis-pensation of Trovldenco. Tho mngnet was thoro that hold him. Ho smoked nnd walked, and so tho time drngged by until tho hour of fato arrived. Chnrllo, tho better to seo and bo out of tho anticipated Jam, had mounted a convenient cnrrlngo-stono standing In front of a dwolllng houso hnlf a block from tho hotel. Great as was tho oxcltomont around mm, it seemed to bo doubly Intensified Intensi-fied further along tho lino of march, especially In front of tho hotel. Ho saw tho procession break at this point molt away ns It wero. Mon rnn townrd tho hotel in squads, waving tholr arms wildly. Was It an opportunity to quench tho thirst thnt frequently burns Irish throats on this glorious holiday? Chnrllo know of yoro all about tho buttle of tho Boyne, nnd how an ornnge flng" arouses tho hatred of a St. Patrick's day parader ovon as tho red flag 8tlr3 tho maddened bull to frenzy. Hnd somo bold nnd Incautious soul dared to Invito immolation by thus Haunting In tholr races tho color thoy despised? Ho supposed this must bo tho case. To his surprise, howovor, tho oxcltomont ox-cltomont spread tho crowd pressed madly forwnrd, mounted ofllcors camo galloping back, shouting out something some-thing that nt first ho could not catch. Novor to his dying day would Charlie Char-lie Stuart forgot tho tntonso anxiety of thnt moment when ho seemed to feel us though tho fato of empires was nt stnko and then ho henrd distinctly abovo tho roar tho stentorian volco of a leathern-lunged officer: "Turn out! Tho avenuo Is Impassable! Impass-able! Tho Windsor hotol Is on flrol Turn out!" Doubtless that stentorian shout sent a shuddering chill to many a henrt whon those who heard It glanc-od glanc-od up at tho masstvo pllo and comprehended compre-hended tho hundreds of precious Hvo3 that wcro endangered. To nono could It appeal with moro irresistible forco than to Charllo Stuart. All his hopes and nmbltlons on earth woro centered there tho girl ho loved with heart nnd bouI was far up In the doomed structuro, perhaps asleep, under tho lnfluenco of an opiate, aftor a wakeful night with an uchlng brow, , r At flrwf'hls blood seemed congealed congeal-ed into lcjb. Then Jt leaped through his veins llko bolftng lava, fresh from tho throat oPA'osuvlus. r.Lwllo ld not wuVUo tlmp 1n ro-M,-ictldn. A ' ' 'V Brflmo wail worth mo.le thani monoy utyw, worth yU! tho world to him. Ho had leap.od ') tho pavement lllp a dccwiouudVSnd dashed toward tho hotol (h great bounds. Some men would havo lost their wits, but "it scorned that tho greater tho emergency tho kconor became his mind. Even as ho rnn and elbowed his way through tho excited crowd with Irrcsi8tlblo forco, ho was mapping out a plan of campaign. Really thero scorns no limit to tho human mind Its capacity lo astonishing astonish-ing it rises to mcot tho emergoncy regardless of what is needed. Now, ovon when thus lighting his way through tho crowd, Charllo saw tho hopelessness of attempting to reach tho main entranco on tho nvo-nuo, nvo-nuo, Tho spaco for half a. block was donsely packed with a whooping mass of humanity, partly Imbued with tho eager curiosity that always distinguishes distin-guishes crowds tho world over, and at tho same tlmo a chivalrous dcslro to bo of use somehow. If ho desired to reach that door ho must porforco walk over tho heads of tho packed crowd. A better plan suggested Itself. Ho remembered n sldo entranco which would admit him much moro easily. Now ho was at tho corner. Ho took ono look up and around. Tho picture was impressed upon tho tablets of his momory forovor. No longer woro handkerchlofs and green ribbons waving from tho numorous windows of tho hotel Instead, In-stead, pnnlc-strlckon girls throw out tholr arms nppoallngly and shrlokcd in terror. Tho wand of an evil magician had touched tho Bcono, nnd transformed it in a twinkling. Smoko already oozed from several openings, proving to Charllo thnt his hopes of tho flro being trifling woro groundless. It was most serious. Tho holocaust of tho Parisian Charlto Bazar was about to bo repented repent-ed In Now York; nnd that St, Patrick's Pat-rick's day would bo marked as tho most growsomo Gotham had ever known. Chnrllo now had a bettor chance to push ahead. Already ho foarod ho had delayed too long. Thero wcro many peoplo nnd much oxcltomont In tho side street, but it was of courso not to ho compared with tho avenuo whoro tho crowds had gathored to Witness tho parade Straight to tho door Charllo dashed. A mnn stood thoro endeavoring to keep out those who had no business Insido, for It Is well known that daring dar-ing thlovcs will talto advantago of such occasions to ply their nefarious i s I p trado, ovon if thoy do not at tltnos even cxeato tbo opportunity. Ton mon could not havo kept our Charllo from pushing In. Ho Bhouted that ho was a guest, and then rushed insido; nor did tho man, after ono look at his haggard faco, nttompt to say him nay. Charllo avoldod tho offlco, whero mon swarmed, and orders wero Bhouted Bhout-ed that could never bo obeyed. His business was aloft. Sho was thoro exposed to a frightful fright-ful death, and ho folt that ho lived but to savo her! So up ho bounded, threo stops nt a time. Ono thing ho must remember tho Windsor wns famous as a caravan-aary caravan-aary whero n stranger might easily loso himself In tho many passages. To do so now would bo Indeed fntal to all his hopes. Ho found smoko everywhere, nnd ovon fancied ho could hear tho crackling crack-ling of flames, though tho wholo placo was In such a turmoil that ono could not bo suro of this. Ho also mot numerous persons, flying fly-ing this way and that, maddened with fenr. Somo hardly know whither they wont, and appealed frantically to this cool-headed man beseeching him, for heaven's sake, to tell them whero tho stairs could bo found. Nor did ho fnll to direct them, every one, oven whllo ho pushed on to tho noxt flight. Up, up, ho wcut, still finding smoko circling along tho halls, through which women staggered, shrieking their appalling distress. It was a terrifying picture Thoro wero comical elements Injected In-jected Into It, of course, but no ono had the heart to laugh. Chnrllo know in his heart a dreadful dread-ful calamity was Impending nothing short of a mlrnclo could savo tho great structuro now, and tho days of miracles appear to bo past. Perhaps scores of human lives would bo sacrificed to tho demou of flro mostly helpless women, employes em-ployes or guests, who had been vlow-lng vlow-lng tho parado from tho upper windows. win-dows. Tho moro fact that such a draught passed through the halls from theso open windows would lfasten tho total demolition of tho wholo Btructuro nnd make It moro certain. Had Charllo no sacred duty of his own to perform, ho would have gladly dovoted nil of his time toward oftect-lug oftect-lug tho rescue of theso terrified girls. As It was, ho could only think of Arllno. Her lovely faco was boforo his eyes and seemed to plead with him to mnlto hnste. Tho smoko was growing oven moro donso, and ho had to push closo to tho doors to distinguish tho numbers, in order to mako sure that ho was on tho right floor. At last this knowlcdgo camo to h,m- -;. Thp ppporJEunliyAvofi .ini.hlBikgras.p. IlcrVtho sdmo coliJltfons seemed to abound thero was smoko In plenty, fronzlcd maids and flying figures darting through It all llko spectres. Charllo was somewhat out of breath as u result of his steady climb, but othorwlso In good physical condition. He had tho number of Arllnc's rooms well In his mind tho house had been crowded, and theso woro the best at hor service, though tho clerk had promised her a suite near the McKlnloys after that day. What If ho could havo mado a mistake mis-take In any way? Tho wretched consequences con-sequences almost paralyzed him to oven think of It. Engorly ho had scanned each flying or crouching female figure ho mot, In tho hopo that ho might thus discover tho ono ho sought. But as yet ho 'had not found her. Even In that smoko-laden ntmos-phoro ntmos-phoro ho know ho could not mlstako her figure, while ono noto from hor volco must havo thrilled him through and through. (To bo continued.) |